Communication system, communication apparatus, control method thereof, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

A mobile terminal (communication apparatus) selects a data item that needs to be obtained from an MFP (information processing apparatus) according to a user instruction given via an operation screen. Upon establishment of NFC communication between the mobile terminal and an NFC tag of the MFP as a result of the mobile terminal being brought closer to the NFC tag by the user, the mobile terminal reads, from the NFC tag, connection information for connecting to the MFP by using the Wi-Fi Direct. The mobile terminal connects to the MFP by using the Wi-Fi Direct based on the obtained connection information, and obtains data corresponding to the selected data item from the MFP through the Wi-Fi Direct communication.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/787,441, filed Feb. 11, 2020, which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/242,360, filed Jan. 8, 2019, andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,609,748 on Mar. 31, 2020, which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/799,145, filed Oct.31, 2017, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,212,745 on Feb. 19, 2019, whichis a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/724,420, filedon May 28, 2015, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,844,084 on Dec. 12, 2017,which claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2014-117093, filed Jun. 5, 2014, the entire disclosures of which are allhereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a communication system, a communicationapparatus, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.

Description of the Related Art

In recent years, products that implement a short-range wirelesscommunication technique called “NFC” (Near Field Communication) andapply the NFC to pairing, authentication and the like so as to performcommunication compliant with high-speed wireless communication standardssuch as Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi Direct® are available. Pairing refers to acommunication procedure for transmitting and receiving apparatusinformation between apparatuses so as to establish a wireless connectiontherebetween. Such apparatuses can perform pairing therebetween throughNFC communication, and perform the actual communication by a handover tocommunication compliant with the standards such as Bluetooth® or Wi-FiDirect®. By simply bringing the NFC compliant apparatuses close to eachother, the users can cause the apparatuses to automatically setcomplicated settings for establishing a wireless connectiontherebetween.

This technique has also recently started to be applied to informationprocessing apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals and printers.For example, in an information processing apparatus, apparatusinformation (connection information) for establishing wirelesscommunication including SSID, IP address, MAC address and the like iswritten in advance in an NFC tag. In this case, in response to acommunication apparatus, such as a mobile terminal, that is compliantwith the NFC being held by the user over the NFC tag of the informationprocessing apparatus, pairing is performed between the informationprocessing apparatus and the communication apparatus through NFCcommunication. Furthermore, a handover is performed from the NFCcommunication to communication compliant with the high-speed wirelesscommunication standards such as Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi Direct®. Throughthis, the communication apparatus can transmit a job such as a print jobor a scan job and receive data (scan data or the like) corresponding tothe transmitted job through the high-speed wireless communication (see,for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-364145).

Conventionally, the data that can be obtained by a communicationapparatus such as a mobile terminal from an information processingapparatus such as a multifunction peripheral or a printer was limited todata (scan data or the like) supported by applications installed on themobile terminal. However, in order to improve the convenience of users,it is necessary for users to, without any limitation to such data thatare obtainable from the information processing apparatus, designate(select) data from among various types of data such as log informationand settings information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the problems describedabove. The present invention provides a technique for improvingusability by enabling data designated by a user in a communicationapparatus to be obtained from an information processing apparatusthrough high-speed wireless communication established based onshort-range wireless communication.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided acommunication system comprising: an information processing apparatus;and a communication apparatus capable of communication with theinformation processing apparatus, wherein the information processingapparatus comprises: a first communication unit configured to performcommunication using a first communication scheme for short-rangewireless communication; and a second communication unit configured toperform communication using a second communication scheme for higherspeed wireless communication than the first communication scheme, andthe communication apparatus comprises: a designation unit configured todesignate at least one data item that needs to be obtained from theinformation processing apparatus from among a plurality of data items inaccordance with an instruction from a user; a first obtainment unitconfigured to obtain connection information for connecting to theinformation processing apparatus by using the second communicationscheme from the information processing apparatus through thecommunication using the first communication scheme; and a secondobtainment unit configured to connect to the information processingapparatus by using the second communication scheme based on theconnection information obtained by the first obtainment unit, and obtaindata corresponding to the data item designated by the designation unitfrom the information processing apparatus through the communicationusing the second communication scheme.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda communication apparatus capable of communication with an informationprocessing apparatus, the communication apparatus comprising: adesignation unit configured to designate at least one data item thatneeds to be obtained from the information processing apparatus fromamong a plurality of data items in accordance with an instruction from auser; a first obtainment unit configured to obtain connectioninformation from the information processing apparatus by using a firstcommunication scheme for short-range wireless communication, theconnection information being information for connecting to theinformation processing apparatus by using a second communication schemefor higher speed wireless communication than the first communicationscheme; and a second obtainment unit configured to connect to theinformation processing apparatus by using the second communicationscheme based on the connection information obtained by the firstobtainment unit and obtain data corresponding to the data itemdesignated by the designation unit from the information processingapparatus through communication using the second communication scheme.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a control method for controlling a communication apparatuscapable of communication with an information processing apparatus, themethod comprising: designating at least one data item that needs to beobtained from the information processing apparatus from among aplurality of data items in accordance with an instruction from a user;obtaining connection information from the information processingapparatus by using a first communication scheme for short-range wirelesscommunication, the connection information being information forconnecting to the information processing apparatus by using a secondcommunication scheme for higher speed wireless communication than thefirst communication scheme; and connecting to the information processingapparatus by using the second communication scheme based on the obtainedconnection information so as to obtain data corresponding to thedesignated data item from the information processing apparatus throughcommunication using the second communication scheme.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve usabilityby enabling data designated by a user in a communication apparatus to beobtained from an information processing apparatus through high-speedwireless communication established based on short-range wirelesscommunication.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of acommunication system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configurationof an MFP.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configurationof a mobile terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of operation screens of anMFP-specific application, which are displayed on a display unit of themobile terminal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing examples of operation screens of theMFP-specific application, which are displayed on the display unit of themobile terminal.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing examples of operation screens of theMFP-specific application, which are displayed on the display unit of themobile terminal.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing controlfor obtaining data executed by a mobile terminal 102 according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing controlfor obtaining data executed by an MFP 101 according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing controlfor obtaining data executed by a mobile terminal 102 according to asecond embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing controlfor obtaining data executed by an MFP 101 according to the secondembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing controlfor obtaining data executed by a mobile terminal 102 according to athird embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing controlfor obtaining data executed by an MFP 101 according to the thirdembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be notedthat the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope ofthe appended claims, and that not all the combinations of featuresdescribed in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solvingmeans of the present invention.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.Note that FIGS. 1 to 6 and the description of these diagrams applyequally to first to third embodiments.

Configuration of Communication System

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of acommunication system according to the first embodiment. In thecommunication system, an MFP 101 and personal computers (PC) 106 areconnected via a wired local area network (LAN) 104, and the MFP 101 anda mobile terminal 102 are wirelessly connected via a wireless LAN (Wi-FiDirect connection 103). The MFP 101 and the mobile terminal 102 may alsobe wirelessly connected by NFC. The MFP 101 is an example of aninformation processing apparatus, and the mobile terminal 102 is anexample of a communication apparatus capable of communication with theinformation processing apparatus.

The MFP 101 and the mobile terminal 102 are compliant with the NFC as acommunication scheme (first communication scheme) for short-rangewireless communication. The MFP 101 and the mobile terminal 102 arefurther compliant with an IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN scheme and the Wi-FiDirect, which is one of the communication schemes that use a wirelessLAN scheme, as a communication scheme (second communication scheme) forhigher speed wireless communication than the NFC.

As shown in FIG. 1, the MFP 101 includes an NFC tag 105 that iscompliant with the NFC, and is capable of performing NFC communicationwith an external apparatus that is complaint with the NFC such as themobile terminal 102 via the NFC tag 105. The MFP 101 is also capable ofperforming facsimile communication via a public network.

The mobile terminal 102 is capable of performing communication with theMFP 101 by connecting to an access point (not shown) on the wired LAN104 by using a WLAN scheme. The mobile terminal 102 is further capableof performing direct communication with the MFP 101 by connecting to theMFP 101 by using the Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi Direct connection 103) withoutconnecting to any access point.

In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the MFP101 and the mobile terminal 102 perform direct communication using theNFC as short-range wireless communication, and further perform directcommunication using the Wi-Fi Direct as high-speed wirelesscommunication. However, the present embodiment is also applicable to thecase where the MFP 101 and the mobile terminal 102 perform high-speedwireless communication via an access point (not shown) by using the WLANscheme instead of using the Wi-Fi Direct.

Configuration of MFP

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configurationof the MFP 101 according to the present embodiment. The MFP 101 includesa controller board 200, and a scanner 209, a printer engine 207, anoperation panel 212 and an NFC antenna 214 that are connected to thecontroller board 200. The controller board 200 implements variousfunctions such as print, scan, copy and facsimile (FAX) in the MFP 101by controlling the devices connected to the controller board 200.

The scanner 209 outputs image data obtained by reading an original imageplaced on the platen glass. The printer engine 207 prints (imageforming) an image on paper based on the input image data (print data).The operation panel 212 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystaldisplay unit and an operation unit including a hard keypad, a touchpanel on the display unit and the like. The user can make varioussettings and issue various instructions with respect to the MFP 101 byusing the operation panel 212. The MFP 101 is capable of displayingvarious types of information to the user via the operation panel 212.

The controller board 200 includes, as devices connected to a system bus219, a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, a storage device 204, an imageprocessor 205, an engine I/F 206, a scanner I/F 208, a wireless LAN I/F210, an NFC controller 213, an USB I/F 215, a network I/F 217, and a FAXI/F 218. The NFC controller 213 is connected to the antenna for NFC (NFCantenna) 214, and constitutes the NFC tag 105 together with the NFCantenna 214.

The CPU 201 performs overall control on the MFP 101 by controlling thedevices connected via the system bus 219. The RAM 202 is a system workmemory for the CPU 201 to perform operations, and computation data andvarious programs used by the CPU 201 are stored therein. The RAM 202 isalso used as an image memory for storing image data that has undergonevarious types of image processing operations performed by the imageprocessor 205 during printing and scanning. The ROM 203 is a boot ROM,and a boot program for booting the MFP 101 is stored therein. Thestorage device 204 is a non-volatile storage device used to storeprograms and data. The CPU 201 uses the programs and data stored in thestorage device 204 as needed by reading into the RAM 202.

The USB I/F 215 is locally connected to a PC 216, and is thus capable ofdirect communication with the PC 216. The network I/F 217 is connectedto the LAN 104, and is thus capable of communication with the PC 106connected to the LAN 104. The FAX I/F 218 is connected to a publicnetwork 108, and is thus capable of performing FAX communication with aFAX apparatus 109 connected to the public network 108.

The CPU 201 performs data communication with the printer engine 207 viathe engine I/F 206, and performs data communication with the scanner 209via the scanner I/F 208. Also, the CPU 201 performs data communicationwith the operation panel 212 via the system bus 219. The CPU 201 is alsocapable of communication with the PC 216 via the USB I/F 215, with thePC 106 via the network I/F 217, and with the FAX apparatus 109 via theFAX I/F 218.

The wireless LAN I/F 210 is connected to a wireless LAN (WLAN) antenna211. The wireless LAN I/F 210 performs communication using a wirelessLAN scheme or the Wi-Fi Direct via the antenna 211. For example, thewireless LAN I/F 210 is capable of performing, via the antenna 211,communication using a wireless LAN scheme with an access point, ordirect communication using the Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi Direct communication)with an external apparatus such as the mobile terminal 102. The CPU 201is capable of communication with an external apparatus such as themobile terminal 102 via the wireless LAN I/F 210.

The NFC controller 213 performs NFC communication with an externalapparatus that is compliant with the NFC such as the mobile terminal 102via the NFC antenna 214. The CPU 201 is capable of communication usingthe NFC with an external apparatus that is compliant with the NFC suchas the mobile terminal 102 via the NFC controller 213 and the NFCantenna 214. In the present embodiment, the NFC controller 213 functionsas an example of a first communication unit, and the CPU 201 and thewireless LAN I/F 210 function as an example of a second communicationunit.

Configuration of Mobile Terminal

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configurationof the mobile terminal 102. The mobile terminal 102 includes acontroller board 300, and a display unit 306, a touch panel 308, a hardkeypad 309, and an NFC antenna 314 that are connected to the controllerboard 300. The controller board 300 implements various functions in themobile terminal 102 by controlling the devices connected to thecontroller board 300. The controller board 300 includes a CPU 301, a RAM302, a ROM 303, a storage device 304, a display controller 305, anoperation unit controller 307, a wireless LAN I/F 310, a speechcommunication unit 312, and an NFC controller 313.

The CPU 301 performs overall control on the mobile terminal 102 bycontrolling the devices connected via a system bus 315. The RAM 302 is asystem work memory for the CPU 301 to perform operations, andcomputation data and various programs used by the CPU 301 are storedtherein. The ROM 303 is a boot ROM, and a boot program for booting themobile terminal 102 is stored therein. The storage device 304 is anon-volatile storage device used to store programs and data. The CPU 301uses the programs and data stored in the storage device 304 as needed byreading into the RAM 302.

The display controller 305 controls display on the display unit 306 inresponse to an instruction from the CPU 301. The operation unitcontroller 307 controls the touch panel 308 and the hard keypad 309, andtransmits signals indicating the content of user operations on the touchpanel 308 and the hard keypad 309 to the CPU 301 via the system bus 315.The speech communication unit 312 is connected to a microphone and aspeaker (not shown), and provides a telephone function of the mobileterminal 102 by performing communication with a base station of a mobilenetwork such as the 3G network or the LTE network.

The wireless LAN I/F 310 is connected to a WLAN antenna 311. Thewireless LAN I/F 310 performs, via the antenna 311, communication usinga wireless LAN scheme or the Wi-Fi Direct. For example, the wireless LANI/F 310 is capable of performing communication using a wireless LANscheme with an access point or Wi-Fi Direct communication with anexternal apparatus such as the MFP 101 via the antenna 311. The CPU 301is capable of communication with an external apparatus such as the MFP101 via the wireless LAN I/F 310.

The NFC controller 313 performs NFC communication with an externalapparatus that is compliant with the NFC such as the MFP 101 via the NFCantenna 314. The CPU 301 is capable of communication using the NFC withan external apparatus that is compliant with the NFC such as the MFP 101via the NFC controller 313 and the NFC antenna 314.

Control for Obtaining Data by Mobile Terminal

In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 102 provides a userinterface (UI) for the user to designate at least one data item thatneeds to be obtained from the MFP 101. To be specific, the CPU 301displays operation screens as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 on the display unit306 by executing an MFP-specific application described below. Throughthis, the CPU 301 enables the user to designate a data item by using thetouch panel 308. The CPU 301 designates at least one data item thatneeds to be obtained from the MFP 101 according to the designation madeby the user using the touch panel 308.

After that, in response to the user bringing the mobile terminal 102closer to the MFP 101 (the NFC tag 105) so as to cause the mobileterminal 102 and the MFP 101 (the NFC tag 105) to be proximate to eachother, the NFC controller 313 establishes NFC communication with the NFCtag 105. The CPU 301 thereby obtains, through the NFC communication,connection information (SSID, encryption key and the like of the MFP101) for establishing a Wi-Fi Direct connection to the MFP 101.Furthermore, the CPU 301 connects to the MFP 101 by using the Wi-FiDirect based on the obtained connection information so as to obtain datacorresponding to the data item designated by the user instruction fromthe MFP 101 through the Wi-Fi Direct communication.

In this way, the present embodiment enables data designated by the userin the mobile terminal 102 to be obtained from the MFP 101 through Wi-FiDirect communication established based on NFC communication. With thisconfiguration, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom indesignating (selecting) data that can be obtained by the mobile terminal102 from the MFP 101 through Wi-Fi Direct communication, and thususability can be improved.

Example of Operation of MFP-Specific Application

An example of operation of the MFP-specific application running on themobile terminal 102 and examples of operation screens of the applicationwill be described next with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. The user of themobile terminal 102 can perform operations on a menu or buttonsdisplayed on the display unit 306 (operations such as scrolling themenu, and pressing a button) by operating the touch panel 308.

Upon activation of the MFP-specific application by the user operatingthe touch panel 308 of the mobile terminal 102, an operation screen 400(FIG. 4) is displayed on the display unit 306. To be specific, inresponse to a user operation, the CPU 301 reads out the MFP-specificapplication stored in the storage device 304 or the ROM 303 into the RAM302 and executes the MFP-specific application so as to cause theMFP-specific application to run on the mobile terminal 102. Throughthis, the CPU 301 controls the display controller 305 so as to displaythe operation screen 400 on the display unit 306. As will be describedbelow, the CPU 301 performs display control of the display unit 306 andcontrol for obtaining data from the MFP 101 in response to a useroperation performed on the touch panel 308.

The operation screen 400 (FIG. 4) is an example of an operation screen(top screen) displayed on the display unit 306 upon activation of theMFP-specific application. Data items 401 to 404 that are obtainable fromthe MFP 101 are displayed on the operation screen 400 such that they canbe designated (selected) by an operation performed on the touch panel308. The data items 401 to 404 shown in FIG. 4 are merely examples, andthus any type of information such as history information, settingsinformation and address book information in the MFP 101 can bedesignated.

Case where One Data Item is Selected

If the user selects any one of the data items 401 to 404 and presses anOK button 405 while the operation screen 400 is displayed on the displayunit 306, the display on the display unit 306 is switched from theoperation screen 400 to an operation screen 500 (FIG. 4). On theoperation screen 500, a data item 501 to be obtained, which was selectedon the operation screen 400, and a message 502 prompting the user tobring the mobile terminal 102 closer to the NFC tag 105 (of the MFP 101)are displayed.

In response to the mobile terminal 102, with the operation screen 500being displayed on the display unit 306, being brought within thecommunicable range of the NFC tag 105, NFC communication is establishedbetween the mobile terminal 102 and the NFC tag 105. The mobile terminal102 thereby receives connection information for connecting to the MFP101 using the Wi-Fi Direct from the NFC tag 105 through the NFCcommunication. After that, in response to the mobile terminal 102starting a Wi-Fi Direct connection to the MFP 101 based on the receivedconnection information, the display on the display unit 306 is switchedto an operation screen 600 (FIG. 4). On the operation screen 600, amessage 601 indicating that a Wi-Fi Direct connection to the MFP 101 isin progress is displayed.

Upon establishment of the Wi-Fi Direct connection between the mobileterminal 102 and the MFP 101, the mobile terminal 102 starts obtainingdata from the MFP 101 through the Wi-Fi Direct communication. At thistime, the display on the display unit 306 is switched to an operationscreen 700 (FIG. 4). On the operation screen 700, a message 701indicating that obtainment of data corresponding to the data item 501 tobe obtained from the MFP 101 is in progress is displayed. Uponcompletion of obtaining the data from the MFP 101, the display on thedisplay unit 306 is switched to an operation screen 800 (FIG. 5).

On the operation screen 800, a message 801 indicating that theobtainment of the data from the MFP 101 has been completed and an OKbutton 802 are displayed. In response to the user pressing the OK button802 on the operation screen 800, the display on the display unit 306 isswitched to an operation screen 900 (FIG. 5). The operation screen 900is a screen provided for the user to select whether or not there isadditional data that needs to be obtained from the MFP 101. If a YESbutton 901 is pressed by the user on the operation screen 900, thedisplay on the display unit 306 is switched to the operation screen 400(FIG. 4). If, on the other hand, a NO button 902 is pressed by the user,the mobile terminal 102 ends the execution of the MFP-specificapplication.

If, on the other hand, obtainment of the data from the MFP 101 fails,the display on the display unit 306 is switched from the operationscreen 700 to an operation screen 1000 (FIG. 5). On the operation screen1000, a message 1001 indicating that obtainment of the data from the MFP101 has failed and an OK button 1002 are displayed. In response to theuser pressing the OK button 1002 on the operation screen 1000, thedisplay on the display unit 306 is switched to the operation screen 400(FIG. 4).

Case where a Plurality of Data Items are Selected

An operation screen 1100 (FIG. 5) is an example of a screen displayed ifthe user selects a plurality of data items from among the data items 401to 404 on the operation screen 400. In response to the user pressing theOK button 405 on the operation screen 1100, the display on the displayunit 306 is switched to an operation screen 1200 (FIG. 6). On theoperation screen 1200, data items 1201 and 1202 to be obtained and amessage 1203 prompting the user to bring the mobile terminal 102 closerto the NFC tag 105 (of the MFP 101) are displayed.

In response to the mobile terminal 102, with the operation screen 1200being displayed on the display unit 306, being brought within thecommunicable range of the NFC tag 105, NFC communication is establishedbetween the mobile terminal 102 and the NFC tag 105. The mobile terminal102 thereby receives connection information for connecting to the MFP101 using the Wi-Fi Direct from the NFC tag 105 through the NFCcommunication. After that, in response to the mobile terminal 102starting a Wi-Fi Direct connection to the MFP 101 based on the receivedconnection information, the display on the display unit 306 is switchedto an operation screen 1300 (FIG. 6). On the operation screen 1300, amessage 1301 indicating that a Wi-Fi Direct connection to the MFP 101 isin progress is displayed.

Upon establishment of the Wi-Fi Direct connection between the mobileterminal 102 and the MFP 101, the mobile terminal 102 starts obtainingdata from the MFP 101 through the Wi-Fi Direct communication. At thistime, the display on the display unit 306 is switched to an operationscreen 1400 (FIG. 6). On the operation screen 1400, a message 1401indicating the status of obtaining data corresponding to the data items1201 and 1202 to be obtained is displayed. Upon completion of obtainingthe data from the MFP 101, the display on the display unit 306 isswitched to an operation screen 1500 (FIG. 6).

On the operation screen 1500, a message 1501 indicating that obtainmentof the data from the MFP 101 has been completed and an OK button 1502are displayed. In response to the OK button 1502 being pressed on theoperation screen 1500, the display on the display unit 306 is switchedto the operation screen 900 (FIG. 5). If, on the other hand, obtainmentof the data from the MFP 101 fails, the display on the display unit 306is switched from the operation screen 1400 to the operation screen 1000(FIG. 5).

Procedure for Performing Control for Obtaining Data

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating a procedure for performingcontrol for obtaining data executed by the mobile terminal 102 and theMFP 101 according to the present embodiment. The processing of stepsshown in FIG. 7 is implemented in the mobile terminal 102 by the CPU 301of the mobile terminal 102 reading out the MFP-specific applicationstored in the storage device 304 or the ROM 303 into the RAM 302 andexecuting the MFP-specific application. Likewise, the processing ofsteps shown in FIG. 8 is implemented in the MFP 101 by the CPU 201 ofthe MFP 101 reading out a control program stored in the storage device204 or the ROM 203 into the RAM 202 and executing the control program.In the present embodiment, a case will be described where the mobileterminal 102 obtains data from the MFP 101, but the procedure shown inFIGS. 7 and 8 is also applicable to a case where data is obtained froman information processing apparatus such as a PC.

In the MFP 101, if the main power supply is turned on, first, in stepS151, the CPU 201 writes connection information (Wi-Fi Direct connectioninformation) for connecting to the MFP 101 using the Wi-Fi Direct intothe NFC tag 105. The connection information includes, as describedabove, the SSID, encryption key and the like of the MFP 101. The NFC tag105 includes a storage area where reading and writing of informationfrom an external apparatus can be performed through NFC communication,and the CPU 201 stores the Wi-Fi Direct connection information in thestorage area. After that, in step S152, the CPU 201 waits for a Wi-FiDirect connection request from an external apparatus.

On the other hand, in the mobile terminal 102, if the user issues aninstruction to activate the MFP-specific application by operating thetouch panel 308, in step S101, the CPU 301 activates the MFP-specificapplication. The CPU 301 reads out the MFP-specific application storedin the storage device 304 or the ROM 303 into the RAM 302 and startsexecution of the MFP-specific application in order to activate theapplication. Through this, the operation screen 400 (FIG. 4) isdisplayed on the display unit 306.

If the user issues an instruction to select a data item(s) that needs tobe obtained from the MFP 101 on the operation screen 400, then, in stepS102, the CPU 301 selects (designates) the data item(s) that needs to beobtained from the MFP 101 according to the user instruction. After that,the CPU 301 advances the processing to step S103.

In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 102 obtains the Wi-FiDirect connection information from the MFP 101 by reading the Wi-FiDirect connection information from (the storage area of) the NFC tag 105by using an NFC reader function provided in the NFC controller 313. Tobe specific, in step S103, the CPU 301 sets the NFC controller 313 intoa reader mode. The NFC controller 313 is configured to be capable ofoperating in three communication modes that are NFC communication modes:a writer mode (first communication mode); a reader mode (secondcommunication mode); and a peer to peer (P2P) mode (third communicationmode). The writer mode is a communication mode which allows onlytransmitting (writing) of data to an external apparatus. The reader modeis a communication mode which allows only receiving (reading) of datafrom an external apparatus. The P2P mode is a communication mode whichallows transmitting and receiving (bidirectional communication) of datato and from an external apparatus.

Next, in step S104, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the NFCcontroller 313 has established NFC communication with the NFC tag 105 asa result of the mobile terminal 102 being brought closer to the NFC tag105 of the MFP 101 by the user. If it is determined that NFCcommunication has been established (“YES” in step S104), next in stepS105, the CPU 301 reads Wi-Fi Direct connection information from the NFCtag 105 through the NFC communication. Furthermore, in step S106, theCPU 301 transmits a Wi-Fi Direct connection request to the MFP 101 basedon the connection information read from the NFC tag 105, and advancesthe processing to step S107.

In the MFP 101, in step S152, the CPU 201 determines whether or not aWi-Fi Direct connection request has been received from an externalapparatus. If it is determined that a Wi-Fi Direct connection requesthas been received from the mobile terminal 102 (“YES” in step S152),then in step S153, the CPU 201 transmits a response to the receivedconnection request, and advances the processing to step S154. Throughthis, a Wi-Fi Direct connection is established between the mobileterminal 102 and the MFP 101, and Wi-Fi Direct communication becomesavailable.

In the mobile terminal 102, in step S107, the CPU 301 determines whetheror not a Wi-Fi Direct connection has been established. Uponestablishment of a Wi-Fi Direct connection as a result of receiving aresponse to the Wi-Fi Direct connection request from the MFP 101 (“YES”in step S107), the CPU 301 advances the processing to step S108. In stepS108, the CPU 301 transmits a data request for requesting datacorresponding to the data item(s) selected in step S102 to the MFP 101through the Wi-Fi Direct communication, and advances the processing tostep S109. If a plurality of data items are selected in step S102, theCPU 301 transmits a data request for requesting data corresponding toall of the data items selected.

In the MFP 101, in step S154, the CPU 201 determines whether or not adata request has been received from the mobile terminal 102. If it isdetermined that a data request has been received (“YES” in step S154),in step S155, the CPU 201 transmits data corresponding to the requesteddata item(s) to the mobile terminal 102 through the Wi-Fi Directcommunication, according to the data request received from the mobileterminal 102. After that, the CPU 201 advances the processing to stepS156. If data corresponding to a plurality of data items is requested,all of the requested data is transmitted to the mobile terminal 102.

In the mobile terminal 102, in step S109, the CPU 301 determines whetheror not the data requested in step S108 has been received from the MFP101, and advances the processing to step S110 if it is determined thatthe data has been received (“YES” in step S109). If reception of thedata from the MFP 101 fails as a result of the Wi-Fi Direct connectionbeing disconnected due to, for example, degradation of the communicationstate, the CPU 301 may display an operation screen such as the operationscreen 1000 on the display unit 306, and end the processing of theflowchart shown in FIG. 7.

In step S110, the CPU 301 determines whether or not there is anadditional data request. Here, if the button 901 is pressed on theoperation screen 900, the CPU 301 determines that there is an additionaldata request (“YES” in step S110), and advances the processing to stepS111. If, on the other hand, the button 902 is pressed on the operationscreen 900, the CPU 301 determines that there is no additional datarequest (“NO” in step S110), and advances the processing to step S113.

In the case where additional data is to be obtained from the MFP 101(“YES” in step S110), in step S111, by accepting selection (designation)of an additional data item from the user via the operation screen 400,the CPU 301 selects the additional data item. Furthermore, in step S112,the CPU 301 transmits a data request for requesting data correspondingto the data item selected in step S111 to the MFP 101 through the Wi-FiDirect communication, and advances the processing to step S109. The CPU301 thereby obtains the data corresponding to the additional data itemfrom the MFP 101 through the Wi-Fi Direct communication.

On the other hand, in the case where additional data is not obtainedfrom the MFP 101 (“NO” in step S110), in step S113, the CPU 301disconnects the Wi-Fi Direct connection to the MFP 101, and then in stepS114, ends the MFP-specific application. After that, the CPU 301 endsthe processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7.

In the MFP 101, in step S156, the CPU 201 determines whether or not anadditional data request has been received from the mobile terminal 102.If it is determined that an additional data request has been received(“YES” in step S156), the CPU 201 returns the processing to step S155.In step S155, the CPU 201 transmits data corresponding to the requesteddata item to the mobile terminal 102 through the Wi-Fi Directcommunication, according to the data request received from the mobileterminal 102. If, on the other hand, it is determined that an additionaldata request has not been received (“NO” in step S156), the CPU 201advances the processing from step S156 to step S157.

In step S157, the CPU 201 disconnects the Wi-Fi Direct connection to themobile terminal 102, and returns the processing to step S152. In stepS152, the CPU 201 again waits for a Wi-Fi Direct connection request froman external apparatus.

As described above, the present embodiment enables the data designatedby the user in the mobile terminal 102 to be obtained from the MFP 101through Wi-Fi Direct communication established based on NFCcommunication. This enables the user to freely designate data that needsto be obtained from the MFP 101 through the Wi-Fi Direct communication,and thus usability can be improved. In addition, in the presentembodiment, Wi-Fi Direct connection information is stored in advance inthe NFC tag 105 of the MFP 101, and thus the mobile terminal 102 canobtain the Wi-Fi Direct connection information from the NFC tag 105through the NFC communication. With this configuration, establishment ofa Wi-Fi Direct connection between the mobile terminal 102 and the MFP101 and obtainment of data from the MFP 101 can be implemented by theuser simply bringing the mobile terminal 102 closer to the MFP 101 (theNFC tag 105). Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it ispossible to obtain data from the MFP 101 with a simple operationperformed by the user.

The present embodiment has described a case where the mobile terminal102 communicates directly with the MFP 101 by using the Wi-Fi Direct ashigh-speed wireless communication. However, the present embodiment isalso applicable to a case where the mobile terminal 102 communicateswith the MFP 101 via an access point using a WLAN scheme as thehigh-speed wireless communication instead of using the Wi-Fi Directcommunication. In this case, the MFP 101 provides, as the connectioninformation, information for connecting to the access point by using theWLAN scheme to the mobile terminal 102 through NFC communication. Themobile terminal 102 (the CPU 301) connects to the access point based onthe connection information obtained from the MFP 101 through the NFCcommunication, so as to communicate with the MFP 101 via the accesspoint, and obtains data from the MFP 101. In addition, the presentembodiment is also applicable to a case where Bluetooth® communicationis used as the high-speed wireless communication.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the mobile terminal 102 transmits a datarequest to the MFP 101 by using Wi-Fi Direct communication establishedbased on the Wi-Fi Direct connection information read from the NFC tag105 through NFC communication (step S108). In contrast, in the secondembodiment, an example will be described in which the transmission ofthe data request is performed by using NFC communication before Wi-FiDirect communication is established. In order to simplify thedescription, a description that overlaps with that of the firstembodiment is omitted here.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts illustrating a procedure for performingcontrol for obtaining data executed by the mobile terminal 102 and theMFP 101 according to the present embodiment. The processing of stepsshown in FIG. 9 is implemented in the mobile terminal 102 by the CPU 301of the mobile terminal 102 reading out the MFP-specific applicationstored in the storage device 304 or the ROM 303 into the RAM 302 andexecuting the MFP-specific application. Likewise, the processing ofsteps shown in FIG. 10 is implemented in the MFP 101 by the CPU 201 ofthe MFP 101 reading out a control program stored in the storage device204 or the ROM 203 into the RAM 202 and executing the control program.In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a case will bedescribed where the mobile terminal 102 obtains data from the MFP 101,but the procedure shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is also applicable to a casewhere data is obtained from an information processing apparatus such asa PC.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, steps in which the same processing as those of thefirst embodiment is performed are given the same reference numerals asin FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 9 is different from that of the first embodiment(FIG. 7) in that steps S103 and S104 are replaced by steps S201 to S204,and that step S108 is removed. Likewise, FIG. 10 is different from thatof the first embodiment (FIG. 8) in that step S154 is replaced by stepS251.

To be more specific, in the mobile terminal 102, as in the firstembodiment, the CPU 301 selects (designates) a data item(s) that needsto be obtained from the MFP 101 in step S102, and thereafter advancesthe processing to step S201. In the present embodiment, the mobileterminal 102 writes a data request for requesting data corresponding tothe selected data item(s) into the NFC tag 105 of the MFP 101 by usingan NFC writer function provided in the NFC controller 313. The mobileterminal 102 thereby issues the data request to the MFP 101.

In step S201, the CPU 301 sets the NFC controller 313 into a writermode. As described above, the writer mode is a communication mode whichallows only transmitting (writing) of data to an external apparatus.Next, in step S202, the CPU 301 determines whether or not the NFCcontroller 313 has established NFC communication with the NFC tag 105 asa result of the mobile terminal 102 being brought closer to the NFC tag105 of the MFP 101 by the user. If it is determined that NFCcommunication has been established (“YES” in step S202), next in stepS203, the CPU 301 writes the data request for requesting datacorresponding to the data item(s) selected in step S102 into (thestorage area of) the NFC tag 105 through the NFC communication.

After that, in step S204, the CPU 301 switches the NFC controller 313into a reader mode so as to read the Wi-Fi Direct connection informationfrom the NFC tag 105 through the NFC communication (step S105) as in thefirst embodiment. In the present embodiment, if a Wi-Fi Directconnection has been established with the MFP 101 based on the Wi-FiDirect connection information read from the NFC tag 105 (“YES” in stepS107), the CPU 301 advances the processing to step S109. That is,because the data request has already been transmitted to the MFP 101(the data request has already been written into the NFC tag 105) throughthe NFC communication, the CPU 301 does not perform transmission of theinitial data request through the Wi-Fi Direct communication.

After step S109, as in the first embodiment, the mobile terminal 102obtains data corresponding to the data request from the MFP 101, andoptionally transmits an additional data request to the MFP 101 so as toobtain additional data from the MFP 101.

On the other hand, in the MFP 101, if a Wi-Fi Direct connection to themobile terminal 102 has been established, and Wi-Fi Direct communicationbecomes available (step S153), the CPU 201 advances the processing fromstep S153 to step S251. In step S251, the CPU 201 reads the data requestwritten into (the storage area of) the NFC tag 105 by the mobileterminal 102 from (the storage area of) the NFC tag 105, instead ofreceiving a data request from the mobile terminal 102 through the Wi-FiDirect communication. Furthermore, in step S155, the CPU 201 transmitsdata corresponding to the requested data item(s) to the mobile terminal102 through the Wi-Fi Direct communication according to the datarequest, and advances the processing to step S156.

After step S156, as in the first embodiment, additional data isoptionally transmitted to the MFP 101 through the Wi-Fi Directcommunication according to an additional data request from the mobileterminal 102.

As described above, in the present embodiment, transmission of a datarequest from the mobile terminal 102 to the MFP 101 is performed beforeWi-Fi Direct communication is established by writing the data requestinto the NFC tag 105 by using the NFC writer function. With thisconfiguration, the MFP 101 can obtain the data request from the NFC tag105 without having to wait for the data request to be received throughthe Wi-Fi Direct communication. Accordingly, in the MFP 101, it ispossible to advance the start timing of transmitting data correspondingto the initial data request.

Third Embodiment

In a third embodiment, as a variation of the second embodiment, anexample will be described in which transmission of a data request fromthe mobile terminal 102 to the MFP 101 is performed by using an NFC P2Pfunction instead of using the NFC writer function. Also, in the presentembodiment, the Wi-Fi Direct connection information is also transmittedfrom the MFP 101 to the mobile terminal 102 by using the NFC P2Pfunction. In order to simplify the description, a description thatoverlaps with those of the first and second embodiments is omitted here.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are flowcharts illustrating a procedure for performingcontrol for obtaining data executed by the mobile terminal 102 and theMFP 101 according to the present embodiment. The processing of stepsshown in FIG. 11 is implemented in the mobile terminal 102 by the CPU301 of the mobile terminal 102 reading out the MFP-specific applicationstored in the storage device 304 or the ROM 303 into the RAM 302 andexecuting the MFP-specific application. Likewise, the processing ofsteps shown in FIG. 12 is implemented in the MFP 101 by the CPU 201 ofthe MFP 101 reading out a control program stored in the storage device204 or the ROM 203 into the RAM 202 and executing the control program.In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a case will bedescribed where the mobile terminal 102 obtains data from the MFP 101,but the procedure shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is also applicable to a casewhere data is obtained from an information processing apparatus such asa PC.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, steps that perform the same processing as those ofthe first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 7and 8. FIG. 11 is different from that of first embodiment (FIG. 7) inthat steps S103 to S105 are replaced by steps S301 to S304, and thatstep S108 is removed. Likewise, FIG. 12 is different from that of thefirst embodiment (FIG. 8) in that step S151 is replaced by steps S351 toS353, and that step S154 is removed.

To be more specific, as in the first embodiment, in step S102, the CPU301 selects (designates) a data item(s) that needs to be obtained fromthe MFP 101, and thereafter advances the processing to step S301. Themobile terminal 102 transmits a data request for requesting datacorresponding to the selected data item(s) to the MFP 101 by using theNFC P2P function provided in the NFC controller 313. The mobile terminal102 thereby issues a data request to the MFP 101. Furthermore, themobile terminal 102 obtains the Wi-Fi Direct connection information fromthe MFP 101 by using the P2P function.

In step S301, the CPU 301 sets the NFC controller 313 into a P2P mode.As described above, the P2P mode is a communication mode which allowstransmitting and receiving (bidirectional communication) of data to andfrom an external apparatus. Next, in step S302, the CPU 301 determineswhether or not the NFC controller 313 has established NFC communicationwith the NFC tag 105 in the P2P mode as a result of the mobile terminal102 being brought closer to the NFC tag 105 of the MFP 101 by the user.If it is determined that NFC communication has been established in theP2P mode (“YES” in step S302), the CPU 301 advances the processing tostep S303.

NFC communication is established in the P2P mode as a result of themobile terminal 102 transmitting a request for switching the NFC tag 105(the NFC controller 213) into the P2P mode to the MFP 101 and receivinga response to the request from the MFP 101. The MFP 101 switches the NFCtag 105 into the P2P mode according to the request received from themobile terminal 102.

In step S303, the CPU 301 transmits a data request for requesting datacorresponding to the data item(s) selected in step S102 to the MFP 101through the NFC communication. Furthermore, in step S304, the CPU 301determines whether or not the Wi-Fi Direct connection information hasbeen received from the MFP 101 through the NFC communication. If it isdetermined that the Wi-Fi Direct connection information has beenreceived (“YES” in step S304), the CPU 301 advances the processing tostep S106. The processing after step S106 is the same as that describedin the second embodiment (FIG. 9).

On the other hand, in the MFP 101, in response to receiving a requestfor switching the NFC tag 105 into the P2P mode from the mobile terminal102, the CPU 201 switches the NFC tag 105 into the P2P mode, andestablishes NFC communication with the mobile terminal 102 in the P2Pmode. In step S351, the MFP 101 determines whether or not the NFC tag105 (the NFC controller 213) has established NFC communication with theNFC controller 313 in the P2P mode. If it is determined that NFCcommunication has been established in the P2P mode (“YES” in step S351),the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S352.

In step S352, the CPU 201 determines whether or not a data request hasbeen received from the mobile terminal 102 through the NFCcommunication. If it is determined that a data request has been received(“YES” in step S352), in step S353, the CPU 201 transmits the Wi-FiDirect connection information to the mobile terminal 102 through the NFCcommunication. Through this, the mobile terminal 102 establishes Wi-FiDirect communication with the MFP 101 based on the Wi-Fi Directconnection information received through the NFC communication (stepS107, step S153). Furthermore, the mobile terminal 102 obtains datacorresponding to the data request received in step S352 from the MFP 101through the Wi-Fi Direct communication (step S109, step S155).Accordingly, in the present embodiment, after step S153, the CPU 201 ofthe MFP 101 advances the processing to step S155, and thus does notperform reception of the initial data request through the Wi-Fi Directcommunication.

After step S156, as in the first embodiment, additional data isoptionally transmitted to the MFP 101 through the Wi-Fi Directcommunication according to an additional data request from the mobileterminal 102. If the Wi-Fi Direct connection to the mobile terminal 102is disconnected in step S157, the CPU 201 returns the processing to stepS351.

As described above, in the present embodiment, transmission of a datarequest from the mobile terminal 102 to the MFP 101 is performed beforeWi-Fi Direct communication is established by transmitting the datarequest to the NFC tag 105 by using the NFC P2P function. With thisconfiguration, the MFP 101 can obtain the data request from the NFC tag105 without having to wait for the data request to be received throughthe Wi-Fi Direct communication. Accordingly, as in the secondembodiment, in the MFP 101, it is possible to advance the start timingof transmitting data corresponding to the initial data request.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2014-117093, filed Jun. 5, 2014, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

1.-22. (canceled)
 23. A communication apparatus that can communicatewith a printing apparatus, the communication apparatus comprising: adisplay device configured to display information; a wireless LANinterface configured to perform wireless communication; a wirelesscommunicator capable of direct communicating with the printingapparatus; and one or more controllers configured to function as: a unitconfigured to cause the display device to display a first screen onwhich a plurality of selectable objects, respectively corresponding to aplurality of processing items that cooperate with the printing apparatusvia the wireless LAN interface, are arranged; a unit configured tocause, in a case where one object of the plurality of selectable objectsis selected in a state that a communication relationship with theprinting apparatus via the wireless LAN interface has not beenestablished, the display device to display a second screen for notifyinga user to perform an operation for bringing the communication apparatusclose to the printing apparatus regardless of which of the plurality ofselectable objects the selected object is, acquire connectioninformation for the communication relationship via the wirelesscommunicator, establish the communication relationship based on theacquired connection information, and perform first communicationprocessing corresponding to the selected object via the communicationrelationship; and a unit configured to accept, after the firstcommunication processing, a selection of a further object of theplurality of selectable objects and perform second communicationprocessing corresponding to the further selected object via thecommunication relationship whose connection state has been maintained,without causing the display device to display the second screenregardless of which of the plurality of selectable objects the furtherselected object is.
 24. The communication apparatus according to claim23, wherein the second screen includes information indicating the oneobject being designated.
 25. The communication apparatus according toclaim 23, wherein the one or more controllers are further configured tofunction as: a unit configured to cause the display device to display ascreen which indicates that communication via the communicationrelationship is in progress after the connection information is acquireduntil information corresponding to the one object is acquired.
 26. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the one or morecontrollers are further configured to function as: a unit configured tocause the display device to display an error screen in a case whereinformation corresponding to the one object cannot be acquired from theprinting apparatus after the connection information is acquired.
 27. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the one or morecontrollers are further configured to function as: a unit configured todisconnect the communication relationship in a case where an instructionto further acquire information from the printing apparatus is notaccepted after information corresponding to the one object is acquired.28. The communication apparatus according to claim 23, wherein thewireless communicator is compliant with NFC (Near Field Communication)standard.
 29. The communication apparatus according to claim 23, whereinthe communication relationship is a Wi-Fi Direct connection.
 30. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the communicationrelationship is a connection for communicating with the printingapparatus via an access point.
 31. The communication apparatus accordingto claim 23, wherein the plurality of selectable objects includesobjects corresponding to jam information, counter information, errorinformation, log information or address book information of the printingapparatus.
 32. A communication method for controlling a communicationapparatus having a display device configured to display information, awireless LAN interface configured to perform wireless communication, anda wireless communicator capable of directly communicating with aprinting apparatus, the method comprising: causing a display device of acommunication apparatus to display a first screen on which a pluralityof selectable objects, respectively corresponding to a pluralityprocessing items that cooperate with the printing apparatus via thewireless LAN interface, are arranged; causing, in a case where oneobject of the plurality of selectable objects is selected in a statethat a communication relationship with the printing apparatus via thewireless LAN interface has not been established, the display device todisplay a second screen for notifying a user to perform an operation forbringing the communication apparatus close to the printing apparatusregardless of which of the plurality of selectable objects the selectedobject is, acquiring connection information for the communicationrelationship via the wireless communicator, establishing thecommunication relationship based on the acquired connection information,and performing first communication processing corresponding to theselected object via the communication relationship; and after the firstcommunication processing, accepting a selection of a further object ofthe plurality of selectable objects and performing second communicationprocessing corresponding to the further selected object via thecommunication relationship whose connection state has been maintained,without causing the display device to display the second screenregardless of which of the plurality of selectable objects the furtherselected object is.
 33. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium that stores a program to cause a computer to perform a method forcontrolling a communication apparatus having a display device configuredto display information, a wireless LAN interface configured to performwireless communication, and a wireless communicator capable of directlycommunicating with a printing apparatus, the method comprising: causingthe display device to display a first screen on which a plurality ofselectable objects, respectively corresponding to a plurality processingitems that cooperate with the printing apparatus via the wireless LANinterface, are arranged; causing, in a case where one object of theplurality of selectable objects is selected in a state that acommunication relationship with the printing apparatus via the wirelessLAN interface has not been established, the display device to display asecond screen for notifying a user to perform an operation for bringingthe communication apparatus close to the printing apparatus regardlessof which of the plurality of selectable objects the selected object is,acquiring connection information for the communication relationship viathe wireless communicator, establishing the communication relationshipbased on the acquired connection information, and performing firstcommunication processing corresponding to the selected object via thecommunication relationship; and after the first communicationprocessing, accepting a selection of a further object of the pluralityof selectable objects and performing second communication processingcorresponding to the further selected object via the communicationrelationship whose connection state has been maintained, without causingthe display device to display the second screen regardless of which ofthe plurality of selectable objects the further selected object is. 34.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim33, wherein the second screen includes information indicating the oneobjection being designated.
 35. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium according to claim 33, wherein the method furthercomprises: displaying a screen which indicates that communication viathe communication relationship is in progress after the connectioninformation is acquired until information corresponding to the oneobject is acquired.
 36. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium according to claim 33, wherein the method further comprises:displaying an error screen in a case where information corresponding tothe one object cannot be acquired from the printing apparatus after theconnection information is acquired.
 37. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 33, wherein themethod further comprises: disconnecting the communication relationshipin a case where an instruction to further acquire information from theprinting apparatus is not accepted after information corresponding tothe one object is acquired.
 38. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium according to claim 33, wherein the wireless communicatoris compliant with NFC (Near Field Communication) standard.
 39. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 33,wherein the communication relationship is a Wi-Fi Direct connection. 40.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim33, wherein the communication relationship is a connection forcommunicating with the printing apparatus via an access point.
 41. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 33,wherein the plurality of selectable objects includes objectscorresponding to jam information, counter information, errorinformation, log information or address book information of the printingapparatus.